Complex biological processes occurring late in development, such as mushroom body (MB) remodeling, often utilize molecules that are also required in a wide variety of other developmental processes. To be able to test the phenotypic effects of homozygous lethal genes, the Luo laboratory developed the MARCM technique, which enables the creation of homozygous mutant clones - that can be as small as single cells - which are positively labeled. Using MARCM we can identify genes that are cell-autonomously required for MB development. MARCM, as well as additional genetic tools for sparse labeling/manipulation developed by other labs (such as MCFO and SPARC), allow us to visualize the architecture of single MB neurons and glia, and track the distribution and dynamics of subcellular structures within them.
